Despite being two of the biggest stars the UFC has ever created, both Jon Jones and Nate Diaz have made an admission about the promotion’s current state.
It was announced earlier this month that Jon Jones and Nate Diaz would bizarrely face off in a Russian reality TV series, which is the equivalent of The Ultimate Fighter.
Despite that, after a brawl erupted between Diaz and several Dagestani fighters, Diaz quit the show last week and left Thailand.
The current UFC heavyweight champion has remained in Thailand and will finish filming the reality TV show with a replacement for Diaz reportedly lined up.
Jones and Diaz make damning admission about the UFC’s current state
Whilst out in Thailand, Nate Diaz and Jon Jones have had several conversations about the UFC. Jones continues to delay a potential heavyweight title unification fight against Tom Aspinall, which continues to frustrate the fanbase.
Diaz on the other hand has opened up about a potential return to the UFC, outlining his three-man hit list if he does return to the promotion.
After a record-breaking year for the promotion last year, the UFC has had a tough start to 2025. One of the reasons being that they are currently struggling to get their biggest stars to fight, one of whom is ‘Bones’.
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn put the UFC’s recent lull down to its lack of current stars, despite the likes of Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria continuing to gain more traction.
And with that, both Diaz and Jones have admitted that they no longer watch UFC fights because they believe it to be too ‘slow’.
“I don’t even root for anybody unless they’re directly from my team,” Diaz said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“Unless you know them, right?” Jones chimed in and agreed.
“‘I hope, I hope this guy does better’, I don’t give a f—,” Diaz continued.
“Same, I don’t lose sleep over who wins,” Jones added.
“I’ll give a whole explanation of that but I don’t give a f— though,” Diaz said.
“I barely watch it, I barely watch the UFC these days, unless it’s my weight class,” Jones admitted.
“Because who are all the people? We don’t even know anybody,” Diaz added.
“A lot of people that we don’t know,” Jones agreed.
“Everybody’s gone it’s like a whole new generation, like everyone’s got potential but it’s like slow, slow moving right now,” Diaz finished.
Nate Diaz calls out Belal Muhammad after his UFC 315 loss
A Diaz UFC return is something that Dana White has seemed open to for several years now, especially if it results in him and Conor McGregor finally settling their trilogy.
However, as well as naming ‘The Notorious’ as a potential comeback opponent, Diaz has also targeted a potential fight against Belal Muhammad following his title loss at UFC 315.
It is unclear whether the Stockton brawler will return to the premier promotion, however, he is one of few fighters who appeals to a large majority of the combat sports fanbase.